Introduction

A thriller that brings to light the twists and turns of Washington and hypothetical bioengineering scenarios – which could one day be real-life news headlines – Capitol Reflections boasts the experience and knowledge of an author who’s spent his career investigation the themes found in the book. This exciting novel follows Dr. Gwen Maulder, an FDA scientist who is hot on the trail of a conspiracy that leads her through the corridors of power and ends in death for too many innocent victims. What Gwen discovers is that people with the resources to genetically engineer food have a surprisingly clear path toward bringing these foods to market - even when the side effects of genetic engineering can be devastating. When Gwen’s best friend dies of mysterious causes, Gwen is convinced there’s more going on than anyone will tell her. She dedicates herself to finding out why it happened - even though her superiors and even her husband implores her to stay away. Her mission will put her in opposition to some very influential people, people who have every reason to prevent her from discovering their secret…and more importantly the power to stop her. As people keep dying, Gwen must go underground to find the answers, risking her life and the lives of those she loves in the process. A state-of-the-art medical thriller written by a true insider, Capitol Reflections is at once edge-of-the-seat fiction and a stirring cautionary tale. If you are worried about the food we eat and the air we breathe, if you believe that big business and big government are capable of colluding to protect their own interests at the expense of any citizen’s, you need to read this book. If you simply love a good story that is well written and completely engaging, one that will keep you turning pages and when it’s over wish there was more, you need to read this book.

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Excerpt

An attendant led Gwen and Jack through a maze of corridors to
a small, carpeted room with a sofa and three chairs. A stately picture
of the Hudson Valley hung over the sofa, and a standard-issue ficus
plant rose in the corner, giving the room a bit of color in contrast to
the sterile surroundings of the hospital. Gwen was stunned she could
even notice this, stunned that the world had any detail for her at all at
the moment. Marci was gone. Inexplicably gone.
“What the hell just happened?” Gwen asked, sitting on the sofa.
Jack Maulder, tall and broad-chested, pulled his wife close. He
didn’t say a word and Gwen didn’t expect him to. He gave her what
she needed just then—a place to cry for the conceivable future.
“I can’t believe it,” she said when she’d regained a modicum of
composure. “This isn’t possible.”
“She literally worked herself to death,” Jack commented
sympathetically.
“You warned her for years to slow down, but Marci couldn’t
resist the adrenaline rush of a high-powered career.”
“Yeah, but she was pretty healthy, Jack, all things considered.”
“People die unexpectedly every day even if they don’t lead
stressful lives.”
Wiping away fresh tears, Gwen ran her fingers through her hair.
“I know, I know, I know,” she said with exasperation in her
voice. “But I knew Marci, and . . . well . . . this shouldn’t have
happened.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I don’t know what I’m suggesting, but people don’t die of
seizures. Not the first time, when they’re in the prime of life.”
“Sometimes they do, honey.”
There were exceptions to everything. Gwen knew that. But the
exceptions were extremely rare. It was virtually impossible to
believe that Marci was one of them.
Once again, a wave of tears crested on top of her. Marci had
been Gwen’s best friend for most of two decades. She was as
essential to her life as her heart and lungs. How do you survive that?
Pulling herself together, Gwen rose abruptly.
“Where are you going?” Jack asked, rising with her.
“I have to call Marci’s family, hopefully before a stranger here
at the hospital finds their number.” She pulled out her cell phone and
started to walk away. Jack seemed confused by this, so she said, “I
just need to be alone for a few minutes.”
Gwen called Marci’s parents, people she felt as close to as
anyone in her own family. Her mind flashed on holiday visits. When
Gwen’s dad humorously battled her for the Thanksgiving wishbone,
could either of them ever have imagined the conversation they were
about to have?
The call rapidly devolved to single syllables, incoherent
fragments, and, ultimately, wails of grief. When it was over, Gwen
leaned against the nearest available wall for support and sobbed
against it because Jack’s chest was too far away.
She had no idea how much time passed before she was capable
of drying her eyes. When she did, she cleared her throat and scrolled
to another number on her phone’s contact list.
“Dave?” she said, unsure of how she sounded. “Captain
Maulder, USPH. I’m going to be over tomorrow morning. You’re
going to be getting a new customer shortly—Marci Newman’s the
name. I want you to save a blood sample for me, but don’t accession
it in your lab system. I want to take it back to Rockville with me,
okay?”
Dave Dardenoff was one of the assistant coroners at the New
York State Medical Examiner’s Office across 32nd Street from
Bellevue. Dave had worked at the FDA’s New York office for a
while, but he fancied himself to be Quincy, the medical examiner
from the old TV series. He preferred a real life medical mystery to
analyzing charts and graphs and going on the occasional plant
inspection. Dave and Gwen had always gotten along well, and he
would provide her with a sample of Marci’s blood, no questions
asked and strictly off the record.
Gwen began walking back to the quiet room to rejoin her
husband. He’d be worried about her by now, but he knew better than
to come to look for her. Somewhere else in the hospital, Marci’s
lifeless body lay. Everything in Gwen’s medical training told her that
Marci shouldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t
do something to figure out what had just happened to her very best
friend.
... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

It’s unusual for a physician and scientist to turn his or her hand to
fiction. What prompted you to write a novel?


It’s impossible for a reader not to wonder – how much of this story is
based in fact?


What do you think about bio-engineered foods? Is bio-engineering
dangerous for our health and for agriculture as a whole?


Is it really possible for food to be engineered in such a way as to make
it more addictive and to make us unwittingly more hungry for that
specific food?


Capitol Reflections implies that food corporations have perhaps an undue
amount of influence in our government, or even use underhanded or
illegal methods to consolidate their positions. Is that element of the
story line based on your experience in Washington?

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